


As It Should Be

by quietrook



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, M/M, Spoilers for Persona 5 Royal, i'm sure this has been done like thousands of times but i i wanted to fix it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29336742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietrook/pseuds/quietrook
Summary: Akira Kurusu is a free man, and returns home to his friends. Well, most of them, anyway...
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	As It Should Be

Something was wrong. He felt it in the air, as soon as he stepped outside; the quiet yet distinct feeling that something was missing. He knew what it was, but somehow he had hoped… well. Everything was as it should be, right? As Sojiro drove off down the street, Akira stared out the window. What would be waiting for him at home?

As it turned out, his friends were there, expectantly awaiting his arrival. He was happy to see them, he really was, but… His eyes scanned the room, hovering on each face for a second before moving on, just enough to verify what he already knew to be true. Morgana, Ann, Yusuke, Ryuji, Makoto, Futaba, Haru… he was surprised to not see Sumire, but she would be coming soon, too, he had no doubt. And sure enough, she showed up a few minutes later, after he had taken his seat at the booth. He didn't turn his head when the bell at the door jingled with the opening; he could imagine, for a second, until she spoke. He could pretend it was someone else. Finally, Akira turned, and gave Sumire a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He wondered if she noticed; she didn't miss much, so she probably did. Finally, they were all there. All of them, except…

He remembered the day he gave Maruki the calling card, remembered tossing it across the table even as his head swam with realization. The tense feeling in the room after Maruki left. 

"I'd like to speak to him alone," Akechi had said, and Morgana, ever a good and understanding friend, had left the café to the two of them. 

They argued, then, if it could be called an argument when the outcome was always inevitable. 

"This isn't what I want," Akechi had said bitterly. "I will choose my own path. I won't be manipulated anymore. You of all people should understand."

"Of course," Akira had replied, "of course I understand, but you can't expect this to be  _ easy  _ for me." 

He had sat down at the bar, head in his hands. He felt rather than heard Akechi walk over to him, but he didn't look up.

"I can't believe I'm losing you again," he mumbled into his hands. 

He felt Akechi's hand on his shoulder, gentler than he could have imagined. He looked up, then, catching Akechi's gaze. There were words unspoken, caught between them in the silence, waiting to be said. They didn't speak. As Akechi leaned down towards Akira, he closed his eyes. Their lips met in the quiet stillness of that moment.

If he thought about it too much, Akira could still feel the sensation. He wiped his hand across his mouth as Ryuji and Morgana argued about something. How fitting it was that he should go back home in a month, leaving all of this behind. He wasn't ready. He couldn't imagine leaving his friends, his school, his home and his  _ family _ for a house where he had never felt home, and for parents that had never had enough time for him and shipped him off at the first sign of trouble. But then, he couldn't have imagined living in a world without Akechi, and here he was, doing it a second time. People would deal with what they had to, Akira thought.

As his friends talked with each other in the background, sounding happier than he could make himself pretend to be, he let his gaze drift out the window. There was a butterfly lazily flying past, but there was something different about it. It was blue, and seemed to shimmer. As the butterfly faded from view, a familiar silhouette came into view, walking down the empty street. The wind caught the figure's scarf, flapping it in the air. With sudden realization, Akira stood up, alarming his friends.

"Akira? What's up, man?" Ryuji looked surprised, but Akira shook his head and ran to the door, pulling it open. 

There stood Akechi, the tips of his nose and ears reddened by the cold. 

Akira was speechless. His mouth moved, trying to form words that wouldn't come out.

"You're here," he finally said, sounding stupid.

"So it appears," Akechi replied, and Akira didn't miss the relief in his voice.

Akechi hadn't wanted to die anymore than Akira had wanted him to. 

"I don't quite understand it, but if we work together, I'm sure we'll figure it out," he said. "May I come in?"

Akira stepped aside, grinning as his friends exclaimed in shock at seeing the former detective prince alive and in Leblanc. He turned to shut the door, and caught a glimpse of that butterfly again. He heard a familiar voice in the back of his mind.

_ The world is reverted to how it should be. _

**Author's Note:**

> I was just so unsatisfied with what happened with Akechi, even with the after credits scene. This isn't much but it's what was rattling around in my head and it's my first crack at writing anything for p5 so it's a mess haha


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